There are at least 800 breeds (kinds) of dogs.[source?] Dogs whose parents were the same breed will also be that breed: these dogs are called purebred or pure pedigree dogs. Dogs with parents from different breeds no longer belong to one breed: they are called mutts, mixed-breed dogs, hybrids, or mongrels. Some of the most popular breeds are sheepdogs, collies, poodles and retrievers. It is becoming popular to breed together two different breeds of dogs and call the new dog's breed a name that is a mixture of the parents' breeds' two names. A puppy with a poodle and a pomeranian as parents might be called a Pomapoo. Instead of being called mutts, these kinds of dogs are known as designer dog breeds. These dogs are normally used for prize shows and designer shows. They can be guide dogs.
Dogs are often called "man's best friend" because they fit in with human life. Man refers to humankind and not just guys (Old English). Dogs can serve people in many ways. For example, there are guard dogs, hunting dogs, herding dogs, guide dogs for blind people, and police dogs. There are also dogs that are trained to smell for diseases in the human body or to find bombs or illegal drugs. These dogs sometimes help police in airports or other areas. Sniffer dogs (usually beagles) are sometimes trained for this job. Dogs have even been sent by Russians into outer space, a few years before any human being. The first dog sent up was named Laika, but she died within a few hours.
Different dog breeds have different lifespans. In general, smaller dogs live longer than bigger ones.[10] The size and the breed of the dog change how long the dog lives, on average. Breeds such as the Dachshund usually live for fifteen years, Chihuahuas can reach age twenty. On the other hand, the Great Dane has an average lifespan of six to eight years; some Great Danes have lived for ten years. An American Bulldog lives for around 15 years. Bigger dogs will have smaller lives than smaller dogs because of the pressure on its heart to move around.
Dogs are mammals, usually kept as pets or for work on farms or police. Some dogs are trained to be rescue dogs, and join teams such as mountain rescue. They have been bred by humans from their ancestral wolves. They were the first animals to live with humans, as far as we know.[4]
There was a lot of variety among wolves in the Late Pleistocene.[1] The dingo is also a dog, but many dingos have become wild animals again and live independently of humans in the range where they occur (parts of Australia).Dogs are sometimes referred to as "man's best friend" because they are kept as domestic pets, are usually loyal, and like being around humans. Dogs like to be petted, but only when they can first see the petter's hand before petting; one should never pet a dog from behind. Many dogs are trained to work as guide dogs, helping blind people get around safely. Others are assistance dogs, who keep their owners calm and safe, while some brave hounds are search and rescue dogs, who help human rescuers save people from danger.
Dogs are the most variable mammal on earth with around 450 globally recognized dog breeds.[10][25] In the Victorian era, directed human selection developed the modern dog breeds, which resulted in a vast range of phenotypes.[8] Most breeds were derived from small numbers of founders within the last 200 years,[8][10] and since then dogs have undergone rapid phenotypic change and were formed into today's modern breeds due to artificial selection imposed by humans. The skull, body, and limb proportions vary significantly between breeds, with dogs displaying more phenotypic diversity than can be found within the entire order of carnivores. These breeds possess distinct traits related to morphology, which include body size, skull shape, tail phenotype, fur type and colour.[8] Their behavioural traits include guarding, herding, and hunting,[8] retrieving, and scent detection. Their personality traits include hypersocial behavior, boldness, and aggression,[10] which demonstrates the functional and behavioral diversity of dogs.[8] As a result, present day dogs are the most abundant carnivore species and are dispersed around the world.[10] The most striking example of this dispersal is that of the numerous modern breeds of European lineage during the Victorian era.[7]
The dog is a classic example of a domestic animal that likely travelled a commensal pathway into domestication.[22][23] The questions of when and where dogs were first domesticated have taxed geneticists and archaeologists for decades.[9] Genetic studies suggest a domestication process commencing over 25,000 years ago, in one or several wolf populations in either Europe, the high Arctic, or eastern Asia.[10] In 2021, a literature review of the current evidence infers that the dog was domesticated in Siberia 23,000 years ago by ancient North Siberians, then later dispersed eastward into the Americas and westward across Eurasia,[20] with dogs likely accompanying the first humans to inhabit the Americas.[24]
A third of ALL households around the world have a dog. These playful, friendly, loyal animals make great companions, but they can also be fierce and tough protectors, or intelligent helpers.
Dogs were the first animal domesticated (tamed) by humans, over 20,000 years ago! As they evolved from wolves, their skulls, teeth and paws shrank, and they became more docile and obedient.In 2019, a workshop hosted by the IUCN/Species Survival Commission's Canid Specialist Group considered the dingo and the New Guinea singing dog to be feral Canis familiaris and therefore did not assess them for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[4]
In 1999, a study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) indicated that the domestic dog may have originated from the grey wolf, with the dingo and New Guinea singing dog breeds having developed at a time when human communities were more isolated from each other.[17] In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World published in 2005, the mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft listed under the wolf Canis lupus its wild subspecies and proposed two additional subspecies, which formed the domestic dog clade: familiaris, as named by Linnaeus in 1758 and, dingo named by Meyer in 1793. Wozencraft included hallstromi (the New Guinea singing dog) as another name (junior synonym) for the dingo. Wozencraft referred to the mtDNA study as one of the guides informing his decision.[3] Mammalogists have noted the inclusion of familiaris and dingo together under the "domestic dog" clade[18] with some debating it.[19
In 1758, the Swedish botanist and zoologist Carl Linnaeus published in his Systema Naturae, the two-word naming of species (binomial nomenclature). Canis is the Latin word meaning "dog",[15] and under this genus, he listed the domestic dog, the wolf, and the golden jackal. He classified the domestic dog as Canis familiaris and, on the next page, classified the grey wolf as Canis lupus.[2] Linnaeus considered the dog to be a separate species from the wolf because of its upturning tail (cauda recurvata), which is not found in any other canid.[16]
dog (Canis familiaris[4][5] or Canis lupus familiaris[5]) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from extinct Pleistocene wolves,[6][7] and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative.[8] The dog was the first species to be domesticated[9][8] by humans. Hunter-gatherers did this, over 15,000 years ago in Germany,[7] which was before the development of agriculture.[1] Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals[10] and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.[11]
The dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes.[12] Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship, therapy, and aiding disabled people. Over the millennia, dogs became uniquely adapted to human behavior, and the human–canine bond has been a topic of frequent study.[13] This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend".[14]
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